Taking levothyroxine during multi-day race
I’m a 33F and was prescribed 25 mg levothyroxine in late February when I went to see my gynecologist about heavy breakthrough bleeding I was having on continuous birth control. They did a blood test (TSH reflex to T4) and my TSH level was 5.1. I had previously had a blood test a few months prior for an unrelated reason and my TSH was around 2.4.
So my doctor prescribed me the lowest dose to see if it would help. The bleeding stopped after a few days (before I got the prescription filled) and I haven’t had an issues with it since. Tbh I didn’t really notice any signs of hypothyroidism besides thinning, dry hair but I was willing to see if the medication would help. I haven’t really noticed anything in the month or so that I’ve been taking it, good or bad. I did find out after talking to my dad that hypothyroidism runs in the family, as his mom had it and so does his oldest brother. He also believes he may have it but hasn’t had it tested.
In two weeks, I’m supposed to be doing a multi-day trail race. I’ve been a runner since 2014, doing trail runs since 2020 and ultramarathons since 2023, and this will be my biggest race yet. It’s 125 miles with a cutoff of 3.5 days and I’m obviously hoping to finish, but I will likely be out there at least a couple of days. My sleep schedule will be messed up and I will be eating differently than I would be on a regular day as my body will require lots of calories to keep moving, so I will likely be eating every 30 minutes, or at least hourly.
So I’m not sure how all this affects how/when I will be taking levothyroxine while I’m out on the trails! Right now I take it first thing after I wake up and typically an hour before eating anything. During the race, I’ll be lucky if I can get in 30 minute naps a few times a day and I’ll be eating/drinking as much as I possibly can. I thought about skipping the pills for a few days since I really didn’t have any issues before taking them, but not sure if that’s a bad idea. If so, what should I do about my medication while I’m running and hiking for multiple days?